STUART, Fla. – A 3-year-old girl is recovering after she was bitten by a shark at a Florida beach.
The girl's mother, Jessica Veatch, told the TC Palm that the attack occurred Sunday at Bathtub Beach in Stuart.
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Veatch said Violet Jalil was playing just a few feet away when she heard the girl scream and saw blood in the water. Veatch lifted the girl and saw a chunk missing from her leg above the knee.
Violet was taken to St. Mary's Medical Center in West Palm Beach, where the doctor who operated told Veatch that it appeared Violet had been bitten by a 5- to 6-foot-long bull shark. She said her daughter's bite mark is 7 inches wide.
Veatch said Violet is expected to remain hospitalized for five weeks. She created a GoFundMe page to help pay for her daughter's medical expenses.
"I'm setting up this fund not knowing what the future holds," Veatch wrote, adding that they have "a long recovery in front of us."
Veatch said she doubts if Violet will ever go back into the water again.
"It was really horrific," she told the TC Palm. "It was something that you'll never forget."